Power transmitting unit



A p 3 w w. PAULUS I 2,257,346

POWER TRANSMITTING" UNIT Original Filed Nov. 9, 1938 I INVENTOTQ WilhelmPaulus,

. ATTO NEYS Patented Sept. 30,1941

rowan rmsm'rrmc UNIT V William Paulns, Buffalo, N. Y.,

assignor to Trice Products Corporation, Buihlo, N. Y.

Original application November 9, 193a, SerialNo.

239,643, now Patent No. 2,252,351, dated August 12, 1941.

Divided and this application September 23, 1939, Serial No. 296,283

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a power transmitting unit and a ball andsocket joint forming a part thereof.

The advantage of the ball andsocket connection between the driving anddriven parts of a mechanism are well known in the art of me chanics.However, the constructions of this type of joint heretofore designedhave been difficult to incorporate in power transmitting units, such asthose utilized in the windshield cleaner systems of present day motorvehicles.

The present invention has for its object to provide a novel joint andunit which is practical for mass production methods and efllcient inuse, and further one which will facilitate its installation in thefabrication of a motor vehicle as a part of an accessory system thereof,such as the automatic windshield cleaner.

This application is a division of Patent No. 2,252,351 granted August12, 1941, which is a continuation-in-part of Patent No. 2,252,350,granted August 12, 1941.

As showing one embodiment of the present invention, reference is made tothe accompanying drawing wherein I Fig. 1 is. a fragmentary sectionalview of the unit in the process of manufacture;

Fig.2 is a similar view of the unit but on an exaggerated scale anddepicting the final step of manufacture; and i Fig. 3 is a fragmentaryperspective view of the completed unit.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the ball and socket joint ofthe present invention, which obviously may be produced per se withoutreference to any particular field of use, has been illustrated herein asconnecting the push-pull link I and the arm 2 of a power transmittingunit of any appropriate design according to the mechanism in which itisdesi gned to be used. The ball part 3 of the joint is preferablyformed of a relatively hard metal such as steel and is anchored by itsshank 4 within the cavity or recess 5 of one of the separable parts 6and 1 of a mold, the supplementalrecess 5' having a positioning stud 8axially related to and. cooperating with the shank 4 to support the ballin position during the initial step of manufacturing the joint. Prior tothis step, which is practically accomplished by a die casting oper-.ation, the ball may be coated with graphite, if

desired, to lessen the tendency of adhesion between the parts. Thesocket part 9 of the joint is east, along with the arm 2 about theanchored composite mold cavity in accordance with any approved diecasting operation. This socket is preferably of a relatively softermetal, such as zinc alloy, and because of the presence of the stud 8,its bottom .wall I! will be formed with an opening III which reduces themetalin the portion of the socket opposite the shank '4 for weakeningthe same. The socketwall at such point may be cast thin without anopening, if desired, just so there'is provided a comparatively weak areaor zone in the bottom wall of the Socket axiallyof the shank. The sidewalls of the socket member are formed heavier for better accommodatingthe lateral thrusts from the ball 7 when embodied in a powertransmittingunit.

Following the casting of the socket part about the relatively harderball part the joint is removed from the mold and placed in the recess IIor ananvil H. The bottom wall of the recess is centrally dished, as atl3, immediately underlying the opening l0 and the adjacent portion ofthe bottom wall It. The reason for this depression II is to permit suchbottom wall portion yielding thereinto during the adhesionbreaking stepin the process now to be described.

With the socket part of the joint positioned on the anvil and the link'I located over the shank 4, the latter is struck a blow, as through aswaging tool It. The force of the impact is so designed as to jar theball loose-'from the socket walls, for freely" swiveling therein, and

to concurrently spread the outer end of the shank over the link I, asindicated at l5, to unite'rigidly the parts of the power transmittinguiiit. While these two operations may be performed separately, the finalproduct is expeditiously completed by the single step just related.

.This adhesion-breaking step has been clearly depicted by theexaggerated showing of Fig. 2, wherein the dot and dash line A indicatesthe initial position of the lower part of the socket wall with respectto the upper part thereof (disregarding possible slight variation due toshrinkage pressure of the cast socket member on the ball), wherein thedouble dot and dash line B indicates the extreme limit oftravel of theball under the impact as determined by the weakened bottom portion ofthe socket member bottoming in the depression l3, ,as illustrated. atl6, and wherein the-solid line 0 indicates the finished elongated shapeof the socket which it assumes upon the rebound of the distended portionfrom the depression v [3,. The result of this elongation of the socketproduces an equatorial ball by expressing the molten metal into the ormedial portion II which is cylindrical, and

, sion I3 receives the displaced metal.

drical portion H has a diameter equal to or slightly greater than theoutside diameterof the the weakened bottom portion is displaced aboutthe opening l, as shown at l8.. By reason of this socket elongation themetal in the socket is obviously crowded under the pressure of the ballagainst the anvil except where the depres- The cylinwithin the socketbut that lateral thrust will be accommodated without play or lostmotion. This is desirable in that the force is directly transmitted fromthe link Lto the laterally extending arm 2 without noise or backlash inits action. Furthermore, any binding between the ball and socket partswill therefore be confined primarily to the cylindrical portion.Therefore, should the ball have a slightly irregular contour resulting"from the mass production methods now in vogue, such irregularity willonly manifest itself at the medial zone and not elsewhere because of therelatively greater clearance in the hemispherical portions. The surfaceof the cylindrical wall will be smoothed and finished for a betterbearing contact of the ball thereon,- this condition of the surfacebeing obtained from the sliding of the ball thereover at the time ofbreaking the adhesion under the impact of the blow on the shank 4.. Theball-smoothed or ball-ironed wall surface, whlle given this finishedcondition, will conform closely to the ball contour at its central planewith a minimum clearance. The bottom hemispherical portion will also begiven a smoothing action and will likewise conform to the surfacecontour of the adiacent hemispherical portion of the ball but.greaterclearance is here provided b reason of the displacement.

In connectio" with the die casting operation, as the socket cools off itwill shrink about the ball and consequently when the ball is given asharp blow, the upper portion of the socket adjacent the protrudingshank will microscopically follow the ball due to its initial shrinkagestresses onto the ball, The continued movement of the novel powertransmitting unit and universal joint have been developed which areeconomically manufactured and efficient in use. While the descriptionhas been given in detail it is not the intention thereby to restrict thescope of the invention except as defined by the appended claims.

What is. claimed is:

1. A ball andv socket joint comprising a ball part having a flat facewitha mounting shank rising therefrom, a socket part enclosing the ballpart from the flat face thereof and having a me-- dial portion ofcylindrical form substantially coaxial with the shank and confining theball part to bodily movement in an axial direction whereby the sphericalsurface of the ball part about the fiat face may be spaced from thesocket wall, a reciprocating member extending laterally from the shank,a second member extending laterally from thesocket, the shank havingashoulder spaced above the flat face serving to space the reciprocatingmember therefrom, and a lubricant holding ring encircling the shank andextending outwardly over the flat face and seating on the surroundingportion of the socket part.

2'. A ball and socket joint comprising a ball part having a flat facewith a mounting shank rising therefrom, a socket part enclosing the ballpart from the flat face thereof and having a medial portion ofcylindrical form substantially cofrom the socket, the shank having ashoulder spaced. above the flat face serving to space the Ireciprocating member therefrom, and a lubricant ball will obviouslywithdraw the ball from the upper portion of the socket and thereby breakany adhesion between the parts in this locality. .Upon release of thepressure from the impact, the ball springs back a trifle but the impactis so controlled that the returnlpush of the ball does not carry thelatter into pressurecontact with such upper portion of the socket.Consequently in its final condition the ball will have a very slightfree end movement which has been exaggerated in Fig. 2 for ease ofdescription. This the spread portion l5,'in confining the pivotalmovement'of the link on the shank. I I

From the foregoing it will be apparent that a about the shank to nroholding ring encircling the shank and extending outwardly over theflatface and seating on the surrounding portion of the socket part, thebottom wall of the socket part opposite the flat face being formed withan opening of less' diameter than such fiat face.

3. A power transmitting Joint comprising a ball part having a mountingshank, and a socket part of relatively softer metal enclosing the ballpart free of the shank, the socket of the socket part having acylindrical wall portion separating two end and partially spherical wallportions, the surface of the cylindrical wall portion being ballironedand'conforming to the surface contour of the ball part at its centralplane for bearing contact thereon with a. minimum clearance, the two endwall portions havingrelatively greater clearance to avoid binding uponthe ball part.

4. A ball and socket joint comprising a ball part having a radiallyvextending mounting shank, and a socket part substantially enclosing theball part and having a cylindrical portion cov axial with the shank to'permit bodily movement of'the ball part, the cylindrical portion havinga ball-ironed contacting surface in close conforming engagement with theball, the socket portions at the opposite sides of the cylindricalportion being loose and free of the ball.

5. A power transmitting ball and socket joint comprising a ball parthaving a radially extending mounting shank, and a socket part ofrelatively softer metal cast about the ball part to snugly fit the ballin conformity with the medial portion thereof-and itself having acylindrical wall portion with a ball-ironed surface in close conformingengagement with the medial portion of the ball, the spherical portionsof the bail on opposite sides of the medial portion beinz free from thesocket wall, and means for applying power for transmission between theball-ironed surface and the snug fitting ball.

6. A unit having' a ball part provided with a shank, and a relativelysofter socket part formed aboutand substantially enciosin: the ballpart,

' the socket part having 'a hemispherical socket wall surface shaped andsmoothed by the-ball to conform closely to the ballsurface, said socketpart also having a substantially cylindrical wall surface adjoining thefirstsurface andsmoothed by the ball inclose conformity to the surfaceof the ball at the, central plane thereof, the ball having playclearance with the first surface. WILLIAM P AULUS.

